Watch: Trailer For ‘Out Of Print’ Reflects On The Future Of 35mm In An Increasing Digital Age

Watch: Trailer For 'Out Of Print' Reflects On The Future Of 35mm In An Increasing Digital Age

For the cinephiles of Los Angeles, New Beverly Cinema is not just another historic movie theater but a sacred landmark that celebrates everything that is enriching about 35mm projection. The theater building which dates back to 1920 is one of the oldest revival cinemas in the nation and, since 1978, the theater has been showing revival (not first run) double-features all year around in their original 35mm format.

In this eye-opening new documentary, "Out of Print," film aficionado Julia Marchese presents an array of intimate interviews with various patrons and supporters of New Beverly Cinema such as Joe Dante, Kevin Smith, Rian Johnson, Seth Green, Edgar Wright, Mark Romanek and Richard Kelly. As Marchese states in her website, "Theaters like the New Bev are well-loved treasures that need to be preserved right along with the films that they show, but there’s a threat on the horizon… The digital revolution might end revival cinema as we know it."

Yes, the digital film revolution is definitely squeezing 35mm aside, but if you’re looking for that “vs” debate you might be better off checking out Keanu Reeves’ compelling film vs. digital doc “Side By Side.” Perhaps more celebratory than say exploratory, it looks like "Out of Print" is going to be a heartfelt ode to the rapidly disappearing revival movie houses and 35mm film exhibition; if this doesn’t wake the film activist in you, nothing probably will. Watch the trailer below.

Comments

J
May 23, 2016 1:55 am

As someone that programmed a revival theater, of sorts, while I'm disappointed 35mm is on the way out, digital is so much easier.

Don't get me wrong. I love film. But not every theater has the luxury of the New Bev where they can just call QT to get a print from his collection, or a filmmaker that still owns a print to play. Every time we ordered a 35mm print, it usually was a disaster. The only time we got a print that didn't mess up was when we ordered a fresh print of My Neighbor Totoro from Gkids. And studios are even worse than going through a second run distributor. When you go through the actual studio they send you the worst ones possible. Even of the new flicks. We got a copy of Ted that looked so bad it looked like a 70's film that was stored poorly.

But dvd, blu-ray, even streaming from the internet. No problems. And the only ones that noticed or complained were film students.

And really. Film shouldn't become an exclusive club. If the film looks good, watch it no matter the format.

Not sure why this is such a huge deal… If anything cinema has ALWAYS been a marriage between technology and art. You can record the art (production design, actors acting, etc.) on anything, so why the tears for 35mm film other than the fact that that's what most of us grew up with. Beyond that, digital recording and digital distribution do an amazing job of capturing performances and art design, while projecting the moving images in a more stable way that does exactly what celluloid did… create the impression of movement on the screen. I wonder how many tears were shed for nickelodeons or zoetropes… It's time to move on from film (I hear no one signing the blues for nitrate, btw)… the only folks unhappy with it are certain directors with a flair for the personally dramatic (Chris Nolan! Quentin Tarrantino! I'm looking at you), hipsters, and projector-repair guys.

Revival movie houses do not have to go out of business thanks to digital… Even the much hailed New Beverly Cinema now owns a digital projection system, so it's not like older movies are going to somehow vanish. If anything, there will be greater access to older films for all to see (whether VOD or in a theater with other human beings), and no longer will revival houses be chained to "out-of-print' notices, bad prints, or the cost of having to strike a new print for a decent revival showing. Just order it up from a film library or direct from the studios themselves. But enough of this "cry me a river" crap about celluloid. It had its day, now let's move on. Cinema is NOT dead.